Let Me Introduce Myself – A Little About Me & SHL

Hello everyone! Let me introduce myself: My name is Chelsea, and I am the voice and photographer behind Semi Homestead Life (SHL). I figured I’d give you a little background information about who I am and why I am even here, as well as welcome you all here!

I live in rural Illinois (Gardening Zone 5b) with my high school sweetheart husband and our two kids – One teenage boy and one teenage girl. Both kids attend public school and are very active in sports and other school activities. They are overall great kids and have big hearts, but, they are also your typical teenagers with their share of challenges!

I am a part-time work-at-home writer and graphic designer. I love writing and doing what I do for a job. However, I wanted a space where I could be more in control of the content I share as well as a place to post my pictures and semi homesteading journey. I also feel like I have a lot I can share and offer (hopefully!) with a unique and relatable voice to do so.

My Goal With SHL

My goal for SHL is to be a place where I can be honest about the positives and negatives of attempting a semi-homesteading life. I want to draw on personal experiences and knowledge without sugarcoating the information. In addition, I want to talk about what it’s like to be a mom in today’s world.

I hope for this to be a place for my creative outlet, whether that is writing about some mundane topic, a place to show off some of my favorite photos, a way to share gardening wins and losses, or even a place to provide you with fun printable graphic design PDFs or even crochet patterns eventually.

(What can I say, I’m a jack of many trades!) (I also really like parentheses, as you will soon notice!)

Hopefully along the way, I can give you some simple tips and information that you might find useful for your everyday life. I also want to show you that homesteading (or simply being a parent) doesn’t have to be perfect. Being upfront about the wins as well as the losses is a huge part of this.

I mean, I’ll be honest. While I love consuming my homegrown canned green beans, I am also not against running through a fast food line in order to get a quick and convenient meal after a busy day. Life is all about balance, right?!

Now, Let Me Introduce Myself!

Quick Info About Me Gowing Up

I grew up on a rural farm outside of a tiny town of 900 people. My parents grew corn and soybeans, and still do to this day. They also had a variety of different livestock throughout the years, including pigs, cattle, horses, and sheep.

Both of my parents grew up in rural locations, growing crops, raising livestock, and tending to gardens. So I guess you could say it kind of runs in the family to be rural and appreciate homesteading values.

As a kid, I showed pigs and sheep at the county and state fairs. I know how to skeet shoot and I was very active in both 4-H and FFA. All of this helped instill my love for nature and getting my hands dirty in the soil.

Since I was young, I wanted to be a writer. I love writing stories and poetry and sharing my written voice. In fact, I was even one class short of having creative writing as a dual minor in college. (I majored in Graphic Communications with a minor in Studio Art.)

Life Right Now – Let Me Introduce Myself

While I am not a full-blown farmer like my parents and grandparents, I still feel like they instilled a love and appreciation of growing things and getting my hands dirty. And for that, I am beyond thankful and grateful.

We don’t live in the middle of the country like we would prefer with multiple acres. Instead, our family is lucky enough to live on a little one-acre homestead on the outskirts of a town of less than 1,000 people.

We raise laying hens, have a small young fruit orchard, and garden every year. I love canning and freezing those garden products and saving my own seeds. In addition to outdoor plants, I have recently become obsessed with houseplants. I also love cooking and baking, including making sourdough goodies.

I am a true introvert who also struggles a bit with social anxiety and overthinking everything I write, do, and say. There’s probably also a bit of undiagnosed ADHD thrown in there as well. For that reason, I enjoy writing so much more than creating videos or podcasts.

In fact, I have big goals of writing a children’s book or even a novel someday. But, the story just isn’t in my head right now. Instead, I have many (MANY) smaller ideas swirling around in my head – hence the idea for this website.

A few of my passions outside of writing and gardening include photography, crafting, crocheting, antiquing, and starting one project just to move on to another without finishing the first (much to my husband’s annoyance!). I also love to repurpose and use some of my family’s old objects (like the windmill that is the basis of my logo).

My Hope To Leave You With – Let Me Introduce Myself

Anyway, I hope you can leave SHL entertained with a few tips along the way to help make your life easier or more fun. Or, maybe you’ll at least find out some tips on what NOT to do or realize that your crazy life is completely normal!

Please feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions or have anything you’d like me to write about. Also, be sure to check out my Instagram page. I look forward to getting to know you all! Thanks for letting me introduce myself to you.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea

*This post may contain affiliate links. These are products I have used personally and highly recommend. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases if you purchase items through my links. These links and the ads on this page help to support my family and our semi homestead, so Thank You!